Mark Pryor: “I would like to say a few more words. When the Democratic leader pointed at me to say something a few moments ago, we…”

“I would like to say a few more words. When the Democratic leader pointed at me to say something a few moments ago, we were not really prepared for that. We talked about coming to the floor later. I am so glad Senator Collins is on the floor now. She really deserves a lion's share of the credit for pulling this together. I am sorry we had no notice on that. Some have kind of joked about the process and the women of the Senate. The truth is that women in the Senate is a good thing, and we see leadership. We are all glad they allowed us to tag along so we could see how it is done. Isn't that right? It was a great experience for us to work together. I know it will be a Reid-McConnell product at the end of the day, and that is great. That is really what we wanted it to be. We talked about, in one of our first meetings, how we understood that we would be the plan B. The problem was there wasn't really a plan A. We would be the plan B, so that if we could help move things along, that would be beneficial and constructive. And I think it was. I think the fact that the leaders knew we were working and trying to do some problem solving helped to move the process along. I know it wasn't always a pretty process, but we tried. I think what this is all about today is a victory for bipartisanship. When we look at all the talk shows and listen to all the talking heads and do all that stuff, they never mention this.…”